There is an organised process to complete your child’s Occupational Therapy assessment and receiving your report…
Step 1: Self Referral Process
You are able to make a direct self referral to the service by completing the online form. Please take the time to fill out the form thoroughly.
You also have the opportunity to book in a free 15 minute phone call where you can speak directly with the service.
It is essential that referrers read all the information on this website.
Step 2: Book Your ‘Initial Consultation’
Accepted referrals by the service will be welcomed to complete a face-to-face Initial Consultation. Please allow up to 1 hour and 30 minutes for your appointment.
The purpose of the Initial Consultation is to start the therapeutic relationship and to begin the assessment process. You will be given a selection of forms to complete and return at your next appointment.
Initial Consultation Fee: £150.
Step 3: Book Your ‘Assessment Package’
After your Initial Consultation appointment, you will be invited to return to complete your chosen Assessment Package. This must be booked in within six weeks of your Initial Consultation.
The service offers a range of Assessment Packages to suit your individual requirements and budget.
A Bronze Package Assessment
- ‘Get-to-know-you’ ice breaker game.
- Handwriting/typing/drawing assessment.
- Fine and gross motor skills assessment (BOT-3).
- Visual perception assessment (MVPT-4).
- Activities of daily living checklist.
A detailed report with recommendations.
Please allow up to 2 hours 30 minutes for your appointment.
Bronze Package Fee: £300.
A Silver Package Assessment
Everything within the Bronze Package plus…
- Completion of the Sensory Processing Measure for the home and school environment (SPM-2).
- A school visit (up to 1.5 hours).
A detailed report with recommendations.
Silver Package Fee: £525.
Travel included for schools within 50 miles of Aylesbury.
A Gold Package Assessment
This assessment package is required to support any stage within the EHCP process.
Everything within the Silver Package plus…
- Review of current paperwork relating to an EHCP.
- Completion of the ABAS-3 Assessment for the home and school environment.
- A longer and more in-depth school visit (up to 3 hours).
The Therapy Room in Aylesbury has been specifically designed to be a calm, relaxed and distraction free zone. This will enable all children to perform their assessments to the best of their abilities.
In exceptional circumstances, it may be possible for both these appointments to take place at an alternative location, for example, the child’s home. This will be discussed at the referral stage.
For children who may struggle with the demands of standardised assessments, it may be possible to conduct these through play activities and observations instead.
Step 4: Your Occupational Therapy Report
Please allow up to one month to receive your Occupational Therapy Report.
This starts once all the assessment sessions have been completed and all forms have been received.
If a report is required before a certain date, this needs to be clearly communicated and agreed first with the service.
All reports are written in a friendly, positive and supportive manner and will address the main reason for your referral. In particular it can be used as evidence for the following reasons:
- It provides a snapshot in time of your child’s strengths, challenges and areas for development.
- Offers valuable information towards a potential diagnosis.
- Helps to inform an EHCP process (Education, Health and Care Plan).
- Advice for Access Arrangements in examinations.
- Recommendation to signpost to further specialist services to carry out their assessments.
- Provides advice for activities to increase skills and development.
Occupational Therapy Assessments
The service has standardised assessments covering young children and adolescents from around the age of 5 to 21 years.
ABAS-3: The Adaptive Behavior Assessment System
This provides a detailed snapshot of the following areas:
- Communication
- Functional Academics
- Self-Direction
- Leisure
- Social
- Community Use
- School Living
- Home Living
- Health and Safety
- Self-Care
- Motor Skills
- Work
Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-3)
Motor co-ordination activities for both fine and gross motor skills:
- Fine Motor Precision
- Fine Motor Integration
- Manual Dexterity
- Upper-Limb Coordination
- Bilateral Coordination
- Balance
- Running Speed
- Agility and Strength
It provides valuable evidence towards a diagnosis of Developmental Coordination Disorder/Dyspraxia.
Motor-Free Visual Perception Test (MVPT-4)
This looks in particular at the five areas of Visual-Perceptual abilities:
- Spatial Relationships
- Visual Discrimination
- Figure-Ground
- Visual Closure
- Visual Memory
The Sensory Processing Measure (SPM-2)
It provides an understanding of how someone is processing sensory information from the home and school environments.
Handwriting and Typing Skills
This is assessed through a variety of activities looking at letter formation, copying text, speed of writing and putting ideas down onto paper.
There is an opportunity to compare handwriting with typing skills and to make recommendations for school work.
It can provide valuable evidence towards a diagnosis of Dysgraphia.
What happens after your Occupational Therapy Report?
Depending on the outcome of your report, you may be given an online ‘Therapy Folder’ with resources, or there may be a recommendation for one-to-one sessions.
You are welcome to take your report to any Occupational Therapy service with capacity to complete these intervention sessions.
Typical goals this service has helped children and adolescents with:
- Concentration and listening skills.
- Daily living skills.
- Developing sensory skills.
- Improving fine motor skills.
- Improving core and coordination skills.
- Developing visual perceptual skills.
- Working on visual-motor integration skills.
- Handwriting and organising written content.
- Spelling skills.
- Touch-typing and computer skills.
- Emotional regulation strategies.
- Working on social skills.
- Improving executive functioning skills.
- Improving growth mindset skills.
